Each and every city and town has its own history, often linked to the ancient Armenian churches which are once again becoming the focal points of community life. ''How can you see the 12th, 13th and 14th century Armenian churches in Teodossia and not feel the presence of your ancestors” says the city's parish priest Father Yeremia Magiyan.
"We are not strangers here," he said during a recent two-week tour by this writer of the main centers of Armenian life across Ukraine and Crimea.
The journey started in Lvov, the capital of Austrian Galicia in the 18th century and more recently a Polish city until it became part of Ukraine in 1945.
Here the Armenian presence goes hand in hand with the early development of the city which was founded in 1256 by Prince Danylo of Galicia and soon became an important commercial center.
Captured by the Poles in 1340, the city remained under Polish rule for most of the period until 1722, when it passed to Austria and became the capital of the Province of Galicia.
During World War I, and after bitter fighting in and around the city, Lvov was annexed by Poland in 1919. It was seized by Soviet troops in 1939 during World War II and later occupied by the German army from 1941-1944. In 1945 the city was ceded by Poland to the USSR, and became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Today it has a population of 800,000, including 1,500 Armenians — mostly from the other parts of the former Soviet Union, including Armenia.
The first Armenians began arriving in Lvov more than 700 years ago, and were established enough in 1363— a mere 107 years after the birth of the city itself—to complete the construction of the Cathedral of Holy Assumption, one of Lvov's two oldest Armenian churches which still stand today.
According to local historical records, the Armenians had a near-autonomous status in 1356. They had their own independent courts founded by Mekhitar Gosh, and along with a religious counterpart run by the local clergy, it dealt with the daily problems of the community.
The court's status survived the many upheavals of the city, diminishing at times only to regain its prominence over the centuries that followed until its demise in 1784.
Along with its unique legal structure, the Armenians of Lvov also played a prominent role in the city's trade, industry and civic life.
The Armenian presence was so strong that in 1414, King Vladislav II named an Armenian by the name of Kevork to lead peace talks with the Ottoman rulers in Constantinople.
As an award for his efforts, which included an exchange of prisoners, the King granted him a royal title in 1421 and gave him a small village as a gift.
According to available historical documents, the Armenians were the most prominent segment of Lvov's population in the late 1500's. One such record notes that in 1589, at least 22 of Lvov's top 38 wealthy traders were Armenians along with 19 of the city's 24 trading houses.
In an effort to organize community life, an Armenian directory was prepared in 1407 containing 80 names, including a large number of artisans. Over the years, the number of Armenians living in Lvov numbered about 2,000, and many of them involved in trade with India, Persia and Turkey.
But the community also had its internal problems which were triggered by the 1627 elevation of Deacon Nigol Torosovich, the 22-year-old son of a rich Armenian merchant, to the rank of Archbishop and Primate by Catholicos Melisket, in spite of the expressed wishes of the majority of Lvov's Armenians.
In the years that followed, the community remained bitterly divided between two camps. One—led by Torosovich who adopted Catholicism in 1630— headed towards complete union with Polish Catholicism, while the other fought for their centuries' old allegiance to the mainstream Armenian Apostolic Church in Etchmiadzin, Armenia.
The crisis culminated with the final break of the Lvov Diocese in 1689 from Etchmiadzin—an act which not only further deepened the rift within the community, but also contributed to the departure of hundreds of Armenian families from the region.
The Armenian Cathedral, after a long struggle, fell under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Catholics and remained so for years to come.
The cathedral is still there along with some of the old momentos, but gone are its library which once housed more than 35,000 volumes of
Armenian writings and manuscripts. Commemorative plaques honoring Karlowi Mikulemu (1819-1897), also known as Karol Mikuli, one of Chopin's close assistants and a renowned pianist who published some of the composer's early works, and Polish revolutionary Jozef Zulinski (1841-1808) are just some of the reminders of the Cathedral's history. Some sources say both men were of Armenian descent.
Located on what has for generations been known as Armyanska Street in the heart of the historical part of old Lvov, the Armenian Cathedral served the rapidly dwindling community until 1946 when it was closed by the ruling communists.
Today it is boarded up and is being used as a storage for ancient Ukrainian icons.
But not for long, if Lvov-based newly ordained Bishop Natan Hovhannissian, the first post-communist era Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Ukraine, has his way.
This Cathedral has always been the cornerstone of Lvov's Armenian community. There is a lot of history involving this church and it will return to us one day—soon," he said.
In the meantime, the newly-organized Armenian community has already moved back into the Cathedral's courtyard and now prays in a small chapel which itself was built in 1675.
For the Armenians of Lvov, the ancient history of the early Armenians is a source of strength. They now have a viable community organization, complete with a small school and a strong infrastructure once again revolving around a rejuvenated Armenian church.
"We are back to our roots," Bishop Hovhannissian says.
But the more than 700-year presence of Armenians in Lvov is by far not the longest in that part of the world.
In the Crimea, Armenians trace their roots to the 8th century—starting first with Armenian soldiers and their families who were stationed there in the service of the Byzantine State.
It was around this group that one of the longest-lived Armenian communities in the Diaspora was built.
Arriving in the Crimean coastal town of Teodossia, the visitor comes face- to-face with the city's Armenian past and heritage. From the city's railway link with the rest of the territory, to its oldest surviving historical structures and its only art museum and water distribution network, the Armenian involvement is more than evident.
The Saint Sarkis Armenian Church was built in the 12th century and is the oldest and most visible witness to the Armenian presence along with the St. Kevork church which was built in the 13th century, and the Krikor Lousavoritch, Hovhannes Mgrditch, St. Stepanos, Hovhannes Vosgueperan and Hreshtagabedats churches which were all built between the 13th and 15th centuries.
In the 10th century, Teodossia was better known as "Maritime Armenia" because of the local Armenian community's active role in promoting trade between east and west—a role which stretched over hundreds of years.
In the 17th century, the Armenians had their own fortified quarters, complete with a waterfront "Maksadoun"—a port of entry which levied taxes on all incoming goods.
Prominent Armenian painter Hovhannes Ayvazovski (1817-1909) is credited with the development of modern-day Teodossia, his birthplace and hometown, where he not only built the city's first water distribution pipeline, but also played a key role in the construction of a railway that links the city with the rest of the Crimea.
His waterfront home today houses hundreds of his oil paintings, including dozens with very strong Armenian cultural and religious themes not seen elsewhere in the world.
After decades of neglect, most of the old Armenian churches are once again back in Armenian hands. Many need major repair—a task which is already underway thanks to a young priest who was dispatched from Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia.
Father Yeremia Magiyan, a physics major who graduated from Yerevan State University in 1988, and was ordained a priest in 1992 "because science failed to answer all my questions", arrived in Teodossia five years ago not only to lead the parish, but also to organize the small Armenian community.
"My role is not just that of a priest who conducts Sunday services. I am a social worker, community activist, soldier and—please forgive the vernacular— jack of all trades as you say in America. The church is part of the daily lives of the people here because there is more to the church than dealing with the issues of faith," he said over dinner in his small apartment where he lives with his wife and three young children.
"The people are hungry for leadership and the church is one of their main sources of support," he said as he left his apartment during a late March snowstorm to lead Sunday services. "It is not important how many people come out in these conditions ... I have to be there for those who come."
Traveling across the Crimea with Father Yeremia, the role of the Armenian Church becomes more obvious.
In Simferopol, the capital of the Crimean Autonomous Republic—which is part of the Ukraine—the Armenian Community Council meets every Thursday night. Leading their agenda is the construction of an Armenian church in the city which has an Armenian population of over 2,000.
The fundraising is well underway. The architectural blueprints are ready and so is the plot of land in the heart of the city—a grant from the local authorities.
"What remains are a few government permits which will not be a problem, the choice of stone and the rest of the cash to start work on the church construction. We hope to lay the cornerstone sometime this summer," one of the committee members reported to his colleagues at a recent meeting which examined stone samples brought from the northern regions of the Crimea.
Despite its size, the community is well established.
It has revived its Armenian and Russian language newspaper, the Masiats Aghavni (the Pigeon of Masis), which was first published in 1885, has its own television program and a literary magazine, St. Khatch, published in Russian "to reach out" to the local population.
"We have always been part of the Crimean landscape, and the more the local population knows about our past, the stronger we will become. Maybe we are less than two percent of the population, but we are not transplants. We belong here," a community elder said.
As the Armenians of Simferopol devote their energies to the construction of a new church, others are bouncing out of "those difficult years in our history", reclaiming what they had lost as a community under communist rule.
In the Black Sea resort town of Yalta, where the Big Three (Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States) took the first steps toward the creation of the United Nations in 1945, Armenians once again gather and pray at the turn of the century Saint Hripsime Church, a masterpiece of Armenian architecture.
Built between 1909-1917, the church's numerous art works and oil paintings have since been either vandalized or removed by the various communist authorities of the region.
But one work, the decorative art on the church rotunda by renowned painter Vardges Sureniants (1860-1921) stands witness to the glorious days of the Armenian community.
Now a community of about 2,000, the Armenians of Yalta are active again and free to pray in a church which had to remain off limits for many years.
"Town elders tell me they were tormented when the church was turned into a storage depot and later a museum. Some grew up around the church as children and it must have hurt being locked out of the place they loved," says parish priest Father Soukias Derderian, who did his military service with the Soviet Army in Siberia.
Along the northwestern shores of the Black Sea is Odessa, one of the major ports of Eastern Europe where one of Ukraine's largest concentration of Armenians live. Recent estimates put that number at 30,000 "and growing."
The site of present-day Odessa was first colonized by the ancient Greeks. It was later a Tatar fort, only to be destroyed by the Turks in the 15th century. The Russians gained possession in 1791 and three years later construction of the harbor began and the city renamed Odessa in 1795 after the original Greek colony, Odessos.
Today, Odessa is vibrant. On a recent Sunday, hundreds of residents were at the Odessa port viewing a visiting flotilla of NATO ships carrying the British and American flags—an indication of the changing times.
With the collapse of the iron curtain thousands of Armenians are beginning to settle in what has always been one of the former Soviet Union's most cosmopolitan cities.
The community was officially organized in 1989 and in the few short years that followed embarked on an ambitious project—the construction of a new Armenian church to replace the one which was razed to the ground during the communist era to make room for an apartment complex.
The St. Krikor Lousavoritch, (St. Gregory the Illuminator) built on a high cliff overlooking the Black Sea, was dedicated and consecrated by His Holiness Karekin I, Catholicos of all Armenians in November 1995.
The Armenian communities across Ukraine and the Crimea, which is estimated to be more than 150,000-strong, are full of enthusiasm—and determination to pick up where their ancestors left off many years ago.
